"Oh, oh, Maxie, look!"
The blond looked up from the rows of brightly-decorated party hats in front of him and towards his blue-haired best friend.
"What is it, Ty?"
"Look!" Tyson, who was standing in the middle of the aisle and pointing emphatically at racks of streamers, stressed. Max followed his friend's pointer finger and… grinned.
"Those are perfect!"
There, on the racks, were packages of streamers in pastel pink and lavender, printed with white unicorns. The ones next to them, also in pastel pink, were coated in glitter in different colors.
"We gotta get 'em," Tyson muttered, grabbing three packages of each. The dojo was a big place, after all. And they had to decorate it all.
"He's so totally gonna hate 'em," Tyson continued, snickering. He dropped them in the cart before grabbing a hold of it and dragging it down the aisle. Max followed, still smiling.
"We still need party hats, Ty,"
"Oh right… Okay, how about this: you get the party hats, I get the confetti?"
Max nodded, "Deal."
And off they went, each darting eagerly down different aisles in the party store.
When they finally met up again, Max had gathered together almost two dozen party hats, all in hot pink and decorated with hearts and one, lone, silver tiara. When the blond presented it to Tyson, he broke down in a fit of laughter for almost three minutes straight.
When he finally recovered, Tyson showed Max the varied packets of confetti he'd gotten: pink, lavender, silver and white, all sparkly. Max smile mischeviously: they may very well be washing glitter out of their hair for weeks later, but it would so totally be worth it.
They took their cart to the cash and paid for all the supplies. Then, it was time to head back. (The trip home took longer than necessary because Tyson wanted to stop for ice cream. Several times.)
"I'm sorry, Maxie, but I'm a growing boy!"
Max rolled his eyes, "You always use that excuse. C'mon, man! Hurry up!" He grabbed the sleeve of Tyson's hoodie and all but dragged him down the street.
Before they even got inside the dojo, they could smell the sweet aroma of cake and other goodies wafting from inside.
Of course, the smell of food was enough to get Tyson to hurry it up. As the boy barrelled through the doors, his excitement besting him, Max smiled. 'Good ol' Tyson,'
"Reeeei! We're baaaack!" Max called as he kicked off his shoes and carried the bags into the kitchen.
"I can see that. Little help?"
The sight that greeted him when he entered the kitchen made Max burst into laughter. Rei was fighting off Tyson, who was looking like he hadn't just had like four ice cream cones, with one arm and trying to mix the ingredients for the cake icing with the other.
"Sorry about him," Max said between chuckles, grabbing the back of Tyson's hoodie and dragging him away. Tyson pouted.
"Aw, c'mon, Rei, just lemme lick the spoon,"
Rei sighed, giving in, "Alright, fine. When I'm done, though."
Tyson grinned appreciatively at him.
"What'd you get, by the way?" Rei asked, gesturing to the bags on the floor. Tyson and Max looked down at them, remembering their existance, before looking back up at their dark-haired friend and grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"You'll see," Tyson's grin turned markedly more mischevious. Rei blinked.
"I… alright, you guys, but whatever goes wrong, I'm blaming it on you two,"
Max waved a hand dismissively, "It'll be fineeeee. Right, T?"
"You bet, Maxie!"
Rei smiled, "If you guys say so,"
"Soooo, Rei… when's the cake gonna be done?" Tyson asked, looking up innocently.
Rei gave him a dull stare, "No, you can't have any,"
"C'mon man, you need a taste tester… right?"
"Is it your birthday?"
"Pleeeeeeeeease?"
"No,"
Max chuckled, watching his friends bicker back and forth. Yup, good ol' Tyson. Nothing ever changed around here.
The usual bickering was interrupted by the sound of the doors sliding open and someone new taking off their shoes.
"Hey, Birthday Boy is back!"
Sure enough, said "birthday boy" walked into the kitchen. He nodded to them in greeting.
"Hey Kai! Happy early birthday!" Max grinned brightly. Kai grunted.
"Hn, thanks, I guess… What's that?"
Max, Tyson and Rei all followed Kai's line of sight— the party decorations. Tyson burst out laughing and Max had to fight to contain his giggles. Rei smiled wide.
"Your party decorations! Aren't they pretty?" Tyson managed through hiccups and snorts.
Kai made a weird sound in the back of his throat, "You're kidding,"
"Nope! Look, unicorns!"
He didn't even bother to try and hide the look of abject horror on his face when Tyson pulled a package of streamers out of one of the bags and showed it to him. Max's fight to keep his laughter under wraps was lost and he broke down in hysterics. Even Rei joined in on the merriment.
"If you think those are bad, just wait until you see your birthday hat!" Tyson continued, grinning and snickering. Kai just looked mortified.
After his laughing fit had finally subsided, Max grinned.
Yup. Nothing ever changed around here.